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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Waiver Saviors: 04/14/2010

Waiver Saviors will be a semi-regular column that looks at players owned in approximately 50% or less of all Yahoo! or ESPN leagues, are currently having a significant statistical impact, and may be worth owning especially if your team has gotten out of the gate slowly. Here are some inaugural candidates:

OF Scott Podsednik, KC (27% E; 41% Y!) - If you drafted him, it was for his speed and so far he has not disappointed (6 SB; 0 CS). What you probably didn't expect is a .452 BA and a 1.012 OPS. Grab him if he's still available in your league and stolen bases are a stat category.

SS Alex Gonzalez, TOR (27% E; 32% Y!) - Toronto is winning and Gonzalez has been a big part of that with 4 HR (all solo), 27 TB, .324 BA, 1.155 OPS and 1 SB. If your primary shortstop (Alexei Ramirez) or middle infielder player has gotten off to a slow start, grab Gonzalez while the "gettin' is good".

OF Jose Guillen, KC (5% E; 13% Y!) - His 4 HR, 25 TB and .313 BA are all very usable stats while you wait for other bats on your roster to heat up.

SP Ricky Romero, TOR (15% E; 49% Y!) - He's currently posting Halladay-esque numbers (15 IP, 16 K, 6 H, 1.80 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 16:4 K:BB) against two tough opponents (@TEX, vsCHW). His next start is vsLAA, so you may want to wait and see how he fares against that lineup but he may not be available much longer if he keeps throwing up these kinds of numbers.

RP LaTroy Hawkins, MIL (1.3% E; 12% Y!) - He's tied for the MLB lead with 4 HLD with some nice peripherals like 16.20 K/9 and a 6:1 K:BB ratio. CL Trevor Hoffman is 1-1 with 2 SV and 2 BSV. Hawkins could be in line to pick up some saves while Hoffman works to get back on track.

OF Jeff Francoeur, NYM (46% E; 52% Y!) - Francoeur is currently 4th in the MLB in Runs Created (RC) with 11.38. The rest of the Top 5 are guys you may have heard of: Nelson Cruz, Albert Pujols, Vernon Wells and Ryan Howard. He'll never be a "sexy" fantasy outfielder to own, but should be owned while posting a .440 BA and a 1.380 OPS.

3B Scott Rolen, CIN (10% E; 27% Y!) - Third base continues to be a shallow position, especially if your league uses a CI or INF. Rolen's 3 HR are tied for the MLB lead amongst 3Bers and his respectable .280 BA won't kill you.

1B Daric Barton, OAK (8% E; 10% Y!) - His 7 RBI, 11 BB and .346 BA are very nice from a guy that's not going to hit you many home runs (think Nick Johnson). If your league uses OBP, Barton's .526 makes him a definite own at this point.

1B/3B Ty Wigginton, BAL (0.9% E; 1% Y!) - Filling in for the injured Brian Roberts at second base, Wiggington has 4 hits, 2 of which were home runs, in the two games since taking over. Doesn't hurt that he's batting second in a lineup that should score some runs. Depending on your league settings, he should gain 2B eligibility before Roberts returns.

Just to be clear, these are simply suggestions of guys that may be out there on waivers depending on the size of your league and/or knowledge (or lack thereof) of the other owners. Now is time to start reevaluating your roster, not destroying it.

Good luck!

Are there others I may have missed? Some of these players may have been late-round picks for you that are paying off. Feel free to boast about your successes here.